How to Fix d3d11 dll error in Windows 10?

This time we will take a closer look on how to fix common Windows d3d11 dll error: CreateDeviceAndSwapChain Failed or Please check your GPU is compatible with DirectX 11.1, or This application has failed to start because d3d11.dll was not found and others d3d11 dll errors. Most often this is happening to Windows 7 users, but you can also face with this error even on Windows 10 machine.

What is d3d11 dll error?

As you can see from message, the error occurs because of DirectX 11 issues (Direct3D 11, which runs using d3d11.dll). It’s important to mention that the error can persist even in case you have DirectX 11 (or even DirectX 12) installed. This time we will discuss all possible solutions on how to fix d3d11 CreateDeviceAndSwapChain Failed or d3d11 dll error.

You didn’t install the latest drivers for your graphics card (a lot of users often trying to update the drivers by pressing button Update in the Device manager — this method is incorrect!);

The needed updates are not installed for your Windows OS. Even in case you have DirectX 11 installed and graphics card that supports it, you can still face with the d3d11.dll error (for example, while running Dishonored 2).

The important thing is that this error can occur in both Windows 7 and Windows 10 operating systems.

How to Fix d3d11 dll error?

In case you are facing with d3d11 dll error, you need to follow these instructions:

Manually download the latest original graphics card drivers from AMD, NVIDIA or Intel official websites and install them;

Go to dxdiag (press Win+R and run dxdiag), go to Display tab and check for field DDI для Direct3D. In case you have 11.1 value or higher – you won’t face error d3d11. If your value is lower – most likely, your graphics card is not supporting it or you have the outdated drivers (in case you are using Windows 7 – you need to have the platform update installed on your computer).

Tip. You can also check the version of supported DirectX version by using third party tools like AIDA64.

In Windows 7 you can face with d3d11 dll errors and DirectX 11 while running games even in case you have the latest drivers installed and your graphics card is one of the newest. You can fix the situation by following the instructions below.

Re-install the Game that Causes d3d11.dll Error

In most cases users face d3d11 dll errors because a game installation process is corrupt. Most often this is happening while installing the newest games that required a DirectX update. Sometimes the dll file can become corrupted while updating, and that cause the whole game to crash. Reinstalling it using an installation file from the game manufacturer usually fixes the problem.

At this step you need to download the game installation file from the official manufacturer’s website and install it from scratch again.

This should fix d3d11.dll errors in case any update or a corrupted file was responsible for it.

How to Download d3d11 dll in Windows 7?

By default, there is no d3d11.dll in Windows 7, and this can cause errors like d3d11.dll while running the newest games.

You can easily download and install it from Microsoft official website as a part of update for Windows 7. We don’t recommend you to download d3d11.dll from suspicious websites or copying it from another computer – that won’t help you to fix d3d11 dll error.

After the file is downloaded, confirm the installation of update KB2670838;

After the installation is finished – reboot your machine. The needed dll file will be in C:\ Windows\ System32\ folder, and now you won’t face d3d11 dll error or D3D11 CreateDeviceAndSwapChain Failed again.